(Preface: For all my Spain posts (and future travel posts) it's basically going to be a travel guide set up - I'm going to give the hotel and recommend a restaurant or two, and often there are fees for entering museums/palaces/etc. (unless you're an EU student! give proof and you can get in free or discounted a lot of places as far as I know). There will be money talk, and because I'm traveling with my family I'm coming from a pretty privileged perspective. Just a warning for those who might be traveling on a budget and on an off - off - chance use this as a guide.)



So I got home from my college graduation on Sunday, May 16th, and on Monday evening, May 17th, my family flew to Barcelona for our last hoorah before I enter the adult working world. 

And it was awesome.

Day 1

We got in around 7 or 8 am Barcelona time, so we dropped our bags at our hotel, the lovely Hotel Granvia in the Eixample neighborhood of the city. 

     



At the end of Las Ramblas we reached the waterfront area, where we also encountered a very tall monument to Christopher Columbus, and then turned around to walk towards the Barri Gótic, or the Gothic Quarter, of the city.

The streets in here are small and cobbled, and if you've been to Italy, it almost feels like the small towns scattered throughout the hills of Tuscany. There are multitudes of specialized shops, like jewelry supply stores (also can't forget the tourist shops), and cervecerias (tapas restaurants where you can get really delicious lunches for not much $$). 



We visited the Catedral de Santa Creu i Santa Eulalia, also known as La Seu, the landmark Gothic cathedral in Barcelona. Probably the coolest part of the Cathedral was the Cloisters - there was beautiful greenery, a small liturgical museum, and thirteen geese, meant to represent the thirteen years Saint Eulalia lived before she was tortured to death by the Romans.

(I'll just go with geese are cute.)

We also found the old Jewish quarter within the Barri Gótic, which is something my family always does when we visit new cities/countries, considering the fact that we are Jewish. What was accidental was our stumbling upon a museum in the best surviving synagogue in the Jewish quarter. It was tiny - all of two small rooms, with one wall dating back to the Roman empire - and slightly buried underground due to the fact that stuff was built on top of it and it could not be raised to meet street level like the other buildings in the area. But the Jewish history of Barcelona is really fascinating, as we learned in a short talk, and there were some beautiful Jewish artifacts on display, including an abstract stained glass Star of David created in twelve different colors, to signify the reunification of the Twelve Tribes of Israel. 





So, definitely go explore the Barri Gótic, maybe even get lost. Who knows what you might find?

After this, we were naturally exhausted (having, for all intents and purposes, been awake for over 24 hours), so we returned to the hotel and napped. Day 1 complete.

Day 2

After getting a quick breakfast from our hotel, we walked over to El Born neighborhood to make our entrance time at the Museu Picasso. Now, I like Picasso and all, but I'm not a huge fan of the Cubism movement, so imagine my surprise when I realized this particular museum mostly houses his earlier work. To be sure, there were a fair number of Cubist style paintings, as well as the paintings that showed the artistic development it took to get there, and I enjoyed seeing it. But seeing his earlier work, and his sketches especially, was really cool, and definitely my favorite part of the museum. This museum is a must-see, in my opinion. 

After leaving the museum, we made our way back to Las Ramblas and walked through the famous Mercat de Sant Josep de la Boqueria, better known just as La Boqueria. I love walking through public food markets - the sounds and smells and colors are always exciting to me.


We left and walked up the Passeig de Gràcia (a great shopping street) to find lunch, and after eating walked further up to the Casa Milà, also called "La Pedrera." Designed by the architect Antoni Gaudí ( as many of the sites in Barcelona were) for the Milà family, it is an apartment building with the coolest roof I've ever seen on an apartment. 



Gaudí liked to incorporate elements of nature into his work, which showed in the lines and curves of his buildings - it's especially visible in the architecture of the Sagrada Familia (more on that in Day 3!), but the exterior of this particular building also draws a huge connection between form and nature. 





After that my mom and went to Zara (originally founded in Spain) and bought clothes. Yay for basically no exchange rate!!

Day 3

In the morning, we continued our exploration of all things Gaudí. First, La Sagrada Familia. My mom keeps saying that she loved it so much because it didn't feel like a typical cathedral, and I'm inclined to agree with her. Cathedrals are cool, but most of the time it's difficult for me to feel any kind of spiritual connection to them - not the case with the Sagrada. The outside was already crazy impressive, but the inside was like nothing I'd ever seen, cathedral or otherwise. Definitely one of the coolest, most incredible sites we visited on our trip.







After about two hours there, we took a cab up to Park Güell, commissioned for construction by Gaudí's close friend, Eusebi Güell. A huge sprawling park with lots of walking trails and home to a few mansions, there are also some more incredible architectural features done by Gaudí, my personal favorite being an elevated public viewing area/concert space above the city. The tilework and gardens found all around Park Güell are stunning, and definitely worth a visit. 










When we were finished soaking up the views and sun, we booked it back down to El Born for lunch before catching our train to Madrid. We found a charming and delicious restaurant called Nou Celler, on Carrer de la Princesa. I had their gazpacho (as I was wont to do the whole time we were in Spain) and the goat cheese salad with honey vinaigrette (they like their goat cheese with honey over there, and let me tell you. It was heavenly). Go eat here, if you have the chance. You don't want to miss out.

Cute, right? (The only photo not mine)

And then we were off to pick up our bags and head to the train station for a change in scenery. And let me tell you, it was a change.